Resources
Assessment and Benchmarking
Before embarking on a digital preservation program, it’s useful to know where you are and where you’re going! Here’s some useful resources for assessing your preservation strategies and setting goals for the future.
NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation
Digital Preservation Coalition Rapid Assessment Model (RAM)
Northeast Document Conservation Center Digital Preservation Assessment Handbook
Tools and Workflows
The digital preservation community is a great resource for information-sharing, especially for free and open-source tools and workflows that cover all elements of preservation from characterization to fixity checking.
Community-Owned (digital) Preservation Tool Registry (COPTR)
Digital Preservation Coalition Preservation Handbook: Tools
Advocacy & Building Organizational Support
Digital preservation isn’t just a technical issue, it’s a people issue too! Building consensus among the many stakeholders within an organization – from IT staff to collections professionals even and board members – can help centralize a vision for digital preservation, encourage support and engagement, and encourage interdepartmental cooperation. Below are resources to help communicate the importance of digital preservation, calculate its value, and build a network of internal and external collaborators.
Digital Preservation Coalition Digital Preservation Handbook
- Why Digital Preservation Matters
- Collaboration
- Advocacy Stakeholder Analysis
- Business Cases, Costs/Benefits, and Impact
Digital Preservation Coalition Presentations: Getting Started with Advocacy & Presenting Your Case
Carol Kussmann, “Developing a Business Case for Digital Preservation,” Minnesota Historical Society
Scott Prater, “How to Talk to IT about Digital Preservation,” Journal of Archival Organization
